akbari sankar
© Amir Cohen / ReutersYemeni al-Qaeda militants Ali al-Akbari (til venstre) og Saeed Sankar (midterst) råber slogans, mens de eskorters fra en statslig sikkerhedsret i Sanaa den 13. Juli 2009.
En tidligere fange i Guantanamo, som erklærede sig skyldig i at financiere Al-Qaeda, og som senere blev løsladt i bytte for at kooperere, er blevet en prominent Al-Qaeda person i Yemen. Benådningen kom på trods af hans tidligere klassificering som værende en høj-risiko fange.

Han er nu dukket op i en video med titlen 'Guardians of Sharia', hvori han og andre medlemmer af AQAP (Al-Qaeda på den arabiske halvø) snakker længe om at føre jihad imod Vesten, såvel som at give løfte om troskab til mentor og tidligere leder, Osama bin Laden. Videoen viser også Qosi udlægge vigtigheden af at følge læren fra islamiske lærde og lovprise enkeltmandsangreb mod amerikanske og andre mål.


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Fighting for Uncle Sam! Former Gitmo prisoner becomes Al-Qaeda in Yemen leader


The recording is the first time the former inmate has gone public since his 2012 release. Two years previously, he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and material support for Al-Qaeda, according to the online blog, Long War Journal.

While avoiding mentioning Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) or its leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi by name, those who viewed the footage believe a clear reference was being made, as Qosi called for believers to follow the teachings of recognized Islamic ideologues.

After joining AQ AP in 2014, Ibrahim Qosi, also known as Sheikh Khubayab al Sudani (owing to his Sudanese descent), became one of the group's most outspoken figures.

However, the fact should have come as little surprise to his former captors.

"[The] detainee is an admitted veteran jihadist with combat experience beginning in 1990 and it is assessed he would engage in hostilities against US forces if released," a leaked Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) threat assessment stated in 2007.

Together with other declassified documents, it outlined the history of Qosi's own recruitment into jihadist circles dating back to 1990, when he met two recruiters who enlisted him in the fighting in Afghanistan. Trained at Al-Qaeda's Frouq camp - the group's primary training facility before 9/11 - Qosi followed Osama bin Laden to Sudan in 1991. There, he acted as the former Al-Qaeda leader's accountant, helping him launder money through his front companies. He continued to act as treasurer after the terrorist group relocated to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

According to the JTF-GTMO assessment, Qosi rose to Al-Qaeda's elite security detail in 1994, following an attempt on Bin Laden's life. The role reportedly included undertaking particularly sensitive missions. Later in 1995, Qosi moved to Chechnya, before rejoining Bin Laden around 1996-1997 in Afghanistan.

The former Guantanamo detainee was seen fighting the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan for three years up until 2001, according to the analysis. He was captured a year later in December by Pakistani services. They called the group of militants he was captured with the 'Dirty 30'. It included other higher-ups in Bin Laden's security circle, including one who would later be determined as another would-be participant in the 9/11 attacks on New York City in 2001.

At an interview in Guantanamo in 2003, Qosi was asked to expand on his beliefs. He appeared to show great dedication to the jihadist cause and the Al-Qaeda leader. He apparently said it was his "religious duty to defend Islam and fulfill the obligation of jihad and that the war between America and Al-Qaeda is a war between Islam and [the] aggression of the infidels."

According to the Long War Journal, Qosi's position in the new video by AQAP is the same.

Qosi's case stands out among dozens of others at Guantanamo Bay - the US terrorist prison facility widely condemned for holding inmates for years without charge or trial.